Applicator-operated dispenser for dispensing clip-type external spring retaining rings

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for external spring retaining rings, particularly but not exclusively clip-type retaining rings of the form thereof disclosed and claimed in copending Wurzel application Ser. No. 852,866, filed Aug. 25, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,123, dated July 27, 1971, capable of being operated by a leverage-advantage type applicator as disclosed in my concurrently filed application for letters patent thereon entitled &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;A Hand Applicator for Assembling External Retaining Rings in Their Grooves by Radial Application,&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; Ser. No. 74,780, with &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;operated&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; meaning the acts or operations of picking off, one at a time, the endmost ring of a spring-loaded supply thereof maintained in face engagement and in stack or column formation or a magazine rail provided by the dispenser and thereupon of withdrawing said ring for assembly in its groove.

United States Patent Janecka [4 1 May 16, 1972 [54] APPLICATOR-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR DISPENSING CLIP-TYPE EXTERNAL SPRING RETAINING RINGS [72] Inventor: Gustav .1 anecka,.lackson Heights, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Waldes Kohinoor, Inc., Long island City,

[22] Filed: Sept. 23, 1970 211 App]. No.: 74,779

3,138,854 6/1964 Erdmann ..29/2 1 2 R Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Assistant Examiner-Larry H. Martin Attorney-J. Harold Kilcoyne 57 ABSTRACT A dispenser for external spring retaining rings, particularly but not exclusively clip-type retaining rings of the form thereof disclosed and claimed in copending Wurzel application Ser. No. 852,866, filed Aug. 25, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,123, dated July 27, 1971, capable of being operated by a leverage advantage type applicator as disclosed in my concurrently filed application for letters patent thereon entitled A Hand Applicator for Assembling External Retaining Rings in Their Grooves by Radial Application, Ser. No. 74,780, with operated meaning the acts or operations of picking off, one at a time, the endmost ring of a spring-loaded supply thereof maintained in face engagement and in stack or column formation or a magazine rail provided by the dispenser and thereupon of withdrawing said ring for assembly in its groove.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented May-16, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented May 16, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet t";

APPLICATOR-OPERATED DISPENSER FOR DISPENSING CLIP-TYPE EXTERNAL SPRING RETAINING RINGS INTRODUCTION This invention relates to improvements in dispensers for dispensing external spring retaining rings of the type designed for radial assembly in shaft and spindle grooves, and more particularly to an improved dispenser for dispensing clip-type retaining rings, one at a time as needed, from a supply thereof maintained in a spring-loaded stack or column'thereof on an elongate dispenser-provided magazine rail, and which is capable of being operated" by the same leverage-advantage type hand manipulable tool known as an applicator which is later employed to assemble each so-dispensed ring in its groove. By the term operated as just used and when used hereinafter in the same context is meant the acts or sequence of acts of manually cooperating the gripping jaws of the applicator with the endmost ring of the stack thereof then in the so-called dispense-ready" position, and of thereupon picking off and withdrawing said endmost ring from the stack by bodily withdrawing the tool and ring gripped thereby from the dispenser.

BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION As is well known, external spring retaining rings designed for so-called radial assembly in their grooves are characterized by a relatively wide gap between their open ends, i.e. a width of gap either actual or effective which is only slightly less than the diameter of the circle of the groove bottom, as enables such ring to be assembled by a straight push or thrust force applied to the outer-edge portion thereof disposed generally opposite its said gap as causes the ring to move against the shaft in the plane of the groove and finally to spring-seat itself against the groove bottom. Speaking generally, the assembly of conventional rings designed for radial assembly as aforesaid poses no particular problem, as the force required to spread them over shafts directly in the plane of their grooves in which they are to seat is within the range of that capable of being provided by a simple hand applicator such as that disclosed in US. Pat. to Brell No. 2,483,379 (now expired). However, such is not the case with clip-type retaining rings of the structural form thereof disclosed and claimed in copending Wurzel application Ser. No. 852,866, filed Aug. 29, 1969, which for the ring sizes for 5/ 16-inch diameter shafts and larger and because of the thickness-to-diameter ratio which is required to produce in a short arcuate length ring the extra holding strength which such a ring must provide to be effective, the use of simple hand applicators is not practical and with the very large rings of this type completely unfeasible, all of which were factors leading to the development of a leverage advantage type of hand applicator as disclosed and claimed in my concurrently filed application for letters patent, Ser. No. 74,780.

With practical requirements dictating that said leverage-advantage hand applicator be also capable of operating a dispenser for clip-type retaining rings, it was soon learned that existing dispensers of the conventional type adapted to be operated by the prior applicator tool of the various makes and forms heretofore used could not be successfully operated by a leverage-advantage type hand applicator as aforesaid. Accordingly, if the effective and exceptionally high-performance leverage-advantage hand applicator was to be adopted and made standard, a dispenser would of necessity have to be devised therefor.

THE INVENTION In brief, the present invention contemplates and provides a dispenser for external spring retaining rings, particularly although not exclusively as described and claimed in the aforementioned Wurzel application, which is designed to be and is fully capable of being operated by a hand-manipulated applicator, preferably a leverage-advantage type of hand applicator as disclosed and claimed in my concurrently filed application for letters patent Ser. No. 74,780, entitled A I'Illld Applicator for Assembling External Retaining Rings in Their Groovs by Radial Application."

More particularly, the invention contemplates and provides a dispenser for clip-type retaining rings generally as aforesaid, and which is adapted to be operated by a leverage-advantage type of applicator including an elongate applicator blade terminating at its working end in two short-arcuate length gripjaws which together are adapted to grip an outer-edge portion of a ring when pushed thereagainst in direction of a ring radius, and a relatively thick rigid elongate strap or bar member on which the applicator blade is mounted for translatory movement and which may be provided in its end portion towardswhich the applicator blade is translated in partaking of its working stroke with a sidewardly opening hook formation, which dispenser is constructed and arranged as to provide the necessary guidance and accommodation for both the working ends of the applicator blade and the hook-provided end of the hook member during the course of movement thereof in unison into the dispenser to a position in which the applicator blade grippingly engages the endmost retaining ring of the spring-loaded stack or column thereof then in the dispense-ready position.

The invention further contemplates and provides a dispenser characterized and capable of being operated as just described and whose design is such as provides for the ready interchange of magazine rails thereby to adapt the dispenser to the dispensing of cliptype retaining rings of different sizes, and further provides for adjustment of the width of the dispenser-provided guide slot for the applicator as adapts the dispenser for operation by applicators whose hook members may vary in thickness.

The invention also contemplates and provides a dispenser so constructed and arranged as to make possible and facilitate the picking-off and withdrawal of the endmost ring of a spring loaded column thereof by grip-jaws which grippingly engage said ring only along its outer-edge portion which is diametrically opposed to the gap provided between its open ends.

THE DRAWING A preferred embodiment of a dispenser satisfying the above-stated and other objects of the invention is illustratively shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a dispenser according to the invention:

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a dispenser as shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the top thereof;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the dispenser shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with parts broken away to better shown the details of the working end of the dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the working end of the dispenser and the working end of a leverage-advantage type applicator during the course of its movement towards the dispenser to eflect a ring dispensing, i.e. ring pick-off and withdrawing operation; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary detail views, of which FIG. 5 illustrates the section of the magazine rail and the manner in which clip-type rings hold thereto during the course of their spring-loaded movement towards their dispense-ready position, and FIG. 6 illustrates preferred configurations of the ring-column stop member mounted at the end of the magazine rail towards which the rings to be dispensed are fed and also of the magazine rail proper both along its major length portion and at the end thereof immediately adjacent said column stop member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Illustratively, a dispenser as herein contemplated comprises an elongated, generally rectangular base casting 10 formed with a preferably upright rail support 12 which extends longitudinally along the relatively rearward edge of said base casting said rail support having secured to its top edge as by spaced-apart screws 14 an elongate magazine rail-providing member 16 disposed in forwardly overhanging relation with respect to the upright rail support and whose forward side edge is formed with T-section, thus to constitute the magazine rail proper 18 of the dispenser on which a supply of clip-type retaining rings R to be dispensed are disposed in face engagement and in elongate stack or column formation. As best shown in phantom in FIG. '1, the aforesaid column of rings is spring-loaded toward the left end of the magazine rail 18 (as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2), from which the rings are ultimately to be dispensed, by a spring-feed means shown to comprise a follower 20 riding on said magazine rail and an elongated coil spring 22 connected at one end to said follower and being trained around a shoulder screw 24 threaded into the front face of the upright 12 and from thence extending generally back on itself and having its other end fixedly secured to said upright as by a screw 26.

Secured as by screws 28 (FIG. 3) to that end of the railproviding or forming member 16 towards which the ring column moves under its aforesaid spring loading is a ringcolumn supporting and stop member generally designated 30. By reference to FIGS. 4 and 6, it will be seen that said stop member is preferably of one-piece construction and has elongated L-section, with one (the longer) arm 32 of the L providing a plate-form member which extends transversely across the dispensing end end of the aforesaid magazine rail members 16 and 18, and the other arm 34 of the L being set into a machined recess provided therefor in the end of the railproviding member 16 and being therein secured by the aforesaid screws 28. Consequent to said arms 32, 34 having different thickness, there is provided on the rail and ringcolumn side of the L member the forwardly facing step or shoulder 36 which by design is disposed directly to the rear of each then endmost ring of the column thereof and is further set back from the rail proper 18 by an amount such that it is capable of serving as a back-up surface for said endmost ring during the course of the latter being gripped along its forward outer edge portion by the applicator as a preliminary to'its being withdrawn from the dispenser.

It is an important feature of the invention that the magazine rail 18, rather than extending fully to the stop plate-providing arm 32, is instead effectively terminated short thereof by an amount slightly greater than the axial thickness of one ring of the column thereof to be dispensed. Such effective termination of the rail may be achieved by the simple procedure of removing, by cutting or grinding away as at 18a, 18b (FIG. 6) the free end of the cross bar of the T which provides the rail proper, which ends normally secure the rings feeding along the magazine rail by their projection into the ring interior spaces relatively behind the spaced-apart inner-edge projections p p which are defined in the rings shown by the intersections of the concentric inner edges of their diametrically opposed segmental grip jaws and the adjacent sharply receding inner arcuate edges at the ends of the bending arm portions of such rings, all as illustrated in FIG. in particular.

Now considering the unique constructional features of a dispenser according to the invention which enables its operation by a hand applicator, illustratively, one of the form thereof disclosed and claimed in my aforementioned concurrently filed application entitled A Hand Applicator for Assembling External Retaining Rings in Their Grooves by Radial Application," and which as generally shown in FIG. 4 comprises an applicator blade 50 mounted substantially flush against the relatively under face of an elongate bar or strap member 52 having a hook formation 54 at its one end which projects a substantial distance beyond the arcuate ring gripjaws 56a, 56b and thering-edge backing flanges 58a, 58b of said applicator blade, it will be appreciated that the herein dispenser must be provided with applicator guide means serving to guide both the grip-jaw provided-end of the applicator blade and the projecting end of the hook member into the dispenser to a position in which the grip-jaws of the application blade will align with and grippingly engage the endmost ring of the column thereof preliminary to withdrawing same from the dispenser and also to accommodate for the longer hook-provided end of the hook member 52.

Illustratively, such applicator guide means is provided by a front-to-rear end upright 60 which is preferably cast integrally with the base 10 and whose height is approximately 30 percent greater than that of the aforesaid upright 12 which extends along the rear wall of the base casting. On its side facing the magazine rail and associated parts, said end upright 60 is provided with a horizontal step 62 which extends completely thereacross, and to its same side but below the aforesaid step 62 is secured as by screws 64 a guide plate 66 of height such its upper edge is at about the same level as that of the end upright 60. By such arrangement there is provided an upwardly opening applicator-guide channel C which extends fully across the end of the dispenser from which the rings are dispensed, which channel is defined on its sides by the facing inner-side walls of the end upright 60 and the guide plate 66, and on its bottom by the horizontally extending, upwardly facing step 62 formed on the end upright as aforesaid. By design, the width of said channel C for the length portion thereof extending from its forward entrance end to the forward edge of the aforesaid column-stop member 30 is greater by only a few thousandths of an inch than the combined thickness of the applicator blade and its backing-strap member, and the channel-bottom defining step 62 is at a level as to support an applicator turned on edge, as in FIG. 4, upon insertion thereof in said channel through its entrance end (which insertion is facilitated by the radiused comer 68 between the front wall of the upright and said step 62) at a level such that its longitudinal center line is disposed in the same horizontal plane as that containing the center line of each then endmost ring of the column thereof maintained on the magazine rail 18.

Moreover, the design is further such as to provide that the width of the channel portion rearwardly of the forward edge of said column stop member 30 is such as to accommodate only the leading end of the strap member 52 which extends beyond the applicator-blade grip-jaws 56a, 56b. This narrowing of the channel C is provided by the column stop member 30 whose longitudinally extending, vertical plane surface which faces the channel-defining side wall of the end upright 60 cooperates with said upright side wall in providing the channel sides for the narrower rearward length portion of the channel.

According to a further important feature of the invention, the thickness of the forwardly disposed plate-form portion 32 of said column stop member is substantially equal to that of the ring-edge backing flanges 58a, 58b with which the gripjaws 56a, 56b of the applicator blade are provided and which, as is conventional, are slightly offset from said grip-jaws in the direction of the hook member 52. Moreover, the invention provides that the position of the column stop member 30 Ion gitudinally of the magazine rail 18 is not only such as will dispose its plate-form portion 32 in substantially exact longitudinal alignment with said ring-edge backing flanges of the applicator blade, but also will dispose the forward vertical edge of said plate-form portion in a position just short of the forwardmost position which the end edges of the grip-jaws and the ring-edge backing flanges will assume in picking off the endmost ring of the ring column from said magazine rail 18.

It will be appreciated that the described arrangement of parts provides not only that the longitudinal center line of an applicator inserted in the dispenser channel C provided for its reception will be disposed in the same horizontal plane as that containing the center line of each then endmost ring R of the column thereof maintained on the magazine rail 18, but also that the portion 32 of the ring-column stop member 30 operates as to insure that the ring grip-jaws 56a, 56b of the applicator blade will invariably move in the vertical plane of said endmost ring as is necessary to the grip-jaws performing in their most effective manner.

Upon the applicator-blade grip-jaws 56a, 56b having fully gripped the said endmost ring of the column thereof maintained on the magazine rail in response to push force exerted thereon through the handle end of the applicator blade, withdrawal of the gripped ring is effected by reverse movement of the applicator along the channel C as results in withdrawal of said endmost ring, as is permitted by the aforementioned removal of the free ends of the cross bar of the T- shaped rail. Upon complete withdrawal of said ring having been effected, the next ring of the column thereof moves to the dispense-ready position on the rail in response to the spring loading of said column.

Various adjustments of dispenser parts and/or positioning thereof as may be necessary or considered to be advisable for the purpose of adapting the dispenser to the dispensing of various sizes of rings and to be operated by varying sizes of applicators are possible. More particularly, one or more shims 70 may be interposed between the guide plate 66 and the surface of the end upright to which said guide plate is secured, thus to vary the width of the guide channel so as to adapt it to various thicknesses of applicator. On the other hand, if the dispenser is intended only for constant applicator thickness, the entire applicator guide channel can be formed of one piece rather than being formed by plural parts as described. It is also within the purview of the invention to interchange the magazine rail and supporting part from which it extends with corresponding parts but of different-size rails, etc. as may be required for the dispensing of various sizes of rings as aforesaid.

Various minor constructional changes, in addition to the aforementioned adjustments, as may be needed to put the invention and concept thereof into practice may also be made. Therefore it is intended and is to be understood that all matter contained in the herein description and accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not as limiting.

lclaim:

1. A dispenser for radial assembly-type spring retaining rings adapted to be operated by the same hand-manipulable applicator employed to effect their installation in shaft or spindle grooves and which includes an elongate rigid strap member and an applicator blade mounted substantially flush against the relatively under face of said strap member and which terminates at its working end in arcuate grip-jaws having ring-edge backing flanges disposed in slightly offset relation and in the direction of said strap-member face from the plane of the grip-jaws and wherein said grip-jaws when pushed against the outer edge of a retaining ring are adapted to grip said ring preliminary to withdrawing same from the dispenser and which grip-jaws terminate well short of the corresponding end of the strap member of the applicator, comprising:

an elongate magazine rail for securing a supply of the rings to be dispensed in column formation thereto while permitting feed movement of the column therealong;

a support for said magazine rail;

a ring-column stop member extending transversely across one end of the rail;

spring-feed means for feeding the column of rings longitudinally along said rail in the direction of said column-stop member;

said rail being devoid of its ring-securing property for a short length portion thereof disposed immediately adjacent said column-stop member and whose length is substantially equal to the axial thickness of one ring of the column thereof;

and means providing a guide channel for an applicator as aforesaid which extends transversely through the dispenser and is disposed relatively beyond said magazine-rail end, the width of said guide channel for its length portion extending between its entrance end and said ring-column stop member being substantially equal to the combined thickness of the strap member and applicator blade, and the width of the channel throughout its remaining length portion being substantially equal to the thickness of the strap member only, the construction and arrangement being such that when the applicator turned on edge and with the applicator blade facin the ring column is inserted in and pushed rearwardly ong the guide channel, the grip-jaws of the applicator blade will move against and grippingly engage the endmost ring of the column thereof along a portion of its outer edge, the end portion of the strap member which extends beyond said grip-jaws being meanwhile accommodated in said remaining length portion of said channel, and that responsive to subsequent withdrawal movement of the applicator from the channel the so-gripped ring is picked off from the magazine rail and withdrawn from the dispenser.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said guide channel is defined in part by an upwardly facing bottom wall adapted to support the applicator moving through the channel in position such that its longitudinal center line is in the horizontal plane containing the center line of said endmost ring.

3. A dispenser according to claim 2, and wherein said column-stop member includes a forward plate-form portion having thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the ring-edge backing flanges of the applicator blade and being positioned in the channel in the vertical plane in which said backing flanges are constrained to move, thereby compensating for the offsetting of said flanges out of the plane of the grip-jaws of the applicator blade and insuring movement of said grip-jaws in the vertical plane of said endmost ring of the column.

4. A dispenser according to claim 3, and wherein said ringcolumn stop member further includes a rearward portion having greater thickness than said forward plate-form portion by an amount at least as great as the thickness of a ring of the column thereof on said magazine rail, said forward and rearward portions being separated by a vertical, forwardly facing shoulder which is disposed immediately to the rear of the endmost ring of the column thereof and which serves as a back stop for said endmost ring during the course of its being gripped by the grip-jaws of the applicator blade pushing thereagainst.

5. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for adjusting the width of the length portion of the guide channel extending between its entrance end and said column stop member.

6. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for interchanging a magazine rail on said support with one of a difierent size. 

1. A dispenser for radial assembly-type spring retaining rings adapted to be ''''operated'''' by the same hand-manipulable applicator employed to effect their installation in shaft or spindle grooves and which includes an elongate rigid strap member and an applicator blade mounted substantially flush against the relatively under face of said strap member and which terminates at its working end in arcuate grip-jaws having ring-edge backing flanges disposed in slightly offset relation and in the direction of said strap-member face from the plane of the grip-jaws and wherein said grip-jaws when pushed against the outer edge of a retaining ring are adapted to grip said ring preliminary to withdrawing same from the dispenser and which grip-jaws terminate well short of the corresponding end of the strap member of the applicator, comprising: an elongate magazine rail for securing a supply of the rings to be dispensed in column formation thereto while permitting feed movement of the column therealong; a support for said magazine rail; a ring-column stop member extending transversely across one end of the rail; spring-feed means for feeding the column of rings longitudinally along said rail in the direction of said column-stop member; said rail being devoid of its ring-securing property for a short length portion thereof disposed immediately adjacent said column-stop member and whose length is substantially equal to the axial thickness of one ring of the column thereof; and means providing a guide channel for an applicator as aforesaid which extends transversely through the dispenser and is disposed relatively beyond said magazine-rail end, the width of said guide channel for its length portion extending between its entrance end and said ring-column stop member being substantially equal to the combined thickness of the strap member and applicator blade, and the width of the channel throughout its remaining length portion being substantially equal to the thickness of the strap member only, the construction and arrangement being such that when the applicator turned on edge and with the applicator blade facing the ring column is inserted in and pushed rearwardly along the guide channel, the grip-jaws of the applicator blade will move against and grippingly engage the endmost ring of the column thereof along a portion of its outer edge, the end portion of the strap member which extends beyond said grip-jaws being meanwhile accommodated in said remaining length portion of said channel, and that responsive to subsequent withdrawal movement of the applicator from the channel the so-gripped ring is picked off from the magazine rail and withdrawn from the dispenser.
 2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said guide channel is defined in part by an upwardly facing bottom wall adapted to support the applicator moving through the channel in position such that its longitudinal center line is in the horizontal plane containing the center line of said endmost ring.
 3. A dispenser according to claim 2, and wherein said column-stop member includes a forward plate-form portion having thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the ring-edge backing flanges of the applicator blade and being positioned in the channel in the vertical plane in which said backing flanges are constrained to move, thereby compensating for the offsetting of said flanges out of the plane of the grip-jaws of the applicator blade and insuring movement of said grip-jaws in the vertical plane of said endmost ring of the column.
 4. A dispenser according to claim 3, and wherein said ring-column stop member further includes a rearward portion having greater thickness than said forward plate-form portion by an amount at least as great as the thickness of a ring of the column thereof on said magazine rail, said forward and rearward portions being separated by a vertical, forwardly facing shoulder which is disposed immediately to thE rear of the endmost ring of the column thereof and which serves as a back stop for said endmost ring during the course of its being gripped by the grip-jaws of the applicator blade pushing thereagainst.
 5. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for adjusting the width of the length portion of the guide channel extending between its entrance end and said column stop member.
 6. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for interchanging a magazine rail on said support with one of a different size. 